I went to see Paul Rodriquez & The Whole Enchilada at the "all new" Tropicana last night. It's a 9:00pm show in the Tiffany Theater. I picked up my ticket at 6pm and took a walk to kill some time. Once again, I noticed the porn peddlers were only in front of certain properties. Whatever the rule is, they know it well. Some are handing out larger folded pamphlets instead of the traditional cards. I usually accept the cards and find creative things to do with them, such as put them in the briefcase of my boss when he goes on a trip. Hooters has their walkers on the strip with the back pack signs. They are also handing out coupons.

I wanted to get another look at the inside of the NYNY. I still can't believe how they remodeled it. I was trying to remember where the trees were and how things were laid out and exactly where the Big Apple Bar was. I'm not a big fan of the real New York City but geez, I just don't know what they were thinking. I almost wonder if it had anything to do with the shooting a while back, so that security and cameras could have clear sight lines if there was trouble in the casino.

I had dinner at Gallagher's again. It's still a pretty good solid meal. My only complaints are that it's kinda crowded and noisy...not unlike NYC. They have a nice big prime rib that any prime rib lover can enjoy. I can also vouch for their special NY steak and their rib eye steak. The sides are big too. Most steaks are about $40 and it's a la carte.

I walked right by City Center without even thinking of going inside. Maybe because I didn't have a camera with me. I walked across the street and visited the shops between the MGM and Planet Harrahswood. I've driven by and walked by several times in the past. This time I went inside and got the feel of most of the shops. It is more than just T-shirt shops. There seems to be more and more discount show ticket joints when I go out. Then it was back to the Trop.

The Tropicana showed off their remodeled suites this week. I keep hearing that the stained glass ceiling is going away. It's still there. During recent visits, I was appreciating all the long overdue remodeling in process. And WOW, it will be worth the visit to finally see this place with a little class. Shinny white marble. New gold and orange print carpeting. I'm not sure what the proper term is for the old exterior decor. The main entrance was actually kinda interesting in a 1950s exotic kind of way. But that's being changed too. The main towers will be about the same except bright clean white. The pool is still only half done. There is very little up the circular escalators and down that long hallway. There is white. There is gold print carpet. There is a steakhouse and a small Italian joint. No gaming, no kiosks, no birds.

On this visit, I paid attention to detail. I looked at craftsmanship, materials, fit and finish, design. I was a little disappointed. Initially, It was like it was gonna be an all new Tropicana. The more you look, the more you realize it is a very old building and some things will never change. so it is just an extreme makeover. Now I kinda wonder if it's just "lipstick on a pig". I kinda have a soft spot in my heart for the Trop and I wish it well. They are going for a South Beach theme, and I don't know what to expect. I'm thinking if the owners are serious about long term success, they can make it work. If they are just changing the public perception and try to sell it, it could go downhill real quick.

I still had 20 minutes to kill and put a ten dollar bill into a multi game machine. I placed 5 cent VP and that ten spot lasted the whole 20 minutes. On to the show.

Billed as Paul Rodriguez & The Whole Enchilada, I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. My free ticket had me seated stage right, about halfway up in one of those silly skinny tables where you have to turn your seat sideways to see the stage and have very little room to move around. The show started with 4 girls that did one dance number and then introduced a comedian. This was a white jewish guy that has toured with Paul for a while. After his set, he introduced the next comedienne. She was pretty funny and I wish I could remember her name. She was a Puerto Rican that worked for NASA and married a Texan. She did a really long set. Before Paul came out, they played a video of Paul Rodriguez that showed clips from every show he has been in. When the screen finally went away, there was a set of table and chairs, a 57 Chevy and a bed set. Paul was laying in the bed, got up, got a bottle of water from the table, and walked up to the mic to do his set. He has some funny material. He does some race jokes. He complains that he is 55 years old and is losing his voice. His voice is pretty bad. And 30 minutes later, the show is over. The show room was about 2/3 full and most were locals, so I suspect most of them were comps.

I guess it was an alright show. The girls just doing one song didn't make sense. The stage set with table and chairs, and the Chevy and the bed didn't make sense. All that was left could be done in front of a brick wall at a comedy club. Full price tickets were $39 and $49, which isn't all that much more than a comedy club where you don't know what you're getting. I'm sure discount tix are available. I read on the Trop's website that he will be playing at least a month, maybe more. I'm guessing he will play until the new show by Gloria Estefan gets going. I don't recommend the show as it's 50 minutes of fluff and barely 30 of Paul.

There is a bad trend at the Trop for has-beens that are losing their voice. This needs to come to a screeching halt. As much as I want the Trop to be a classy property, they aren't there yet. It seems like they are trying in some areas. For instance, at the box office, the lady handed me my ticket with both hands. Also, there were bellmen opening the doors for guests at the main front entrance.

It was a fun evening on the strip and a nice night for walking as we are inbetween wind storms and heat waves and rain and cold.

JMT - thanks for the review of your evening. I haven't been to Vegas in a while and am going through withdrawal right now. At least your report was a nice little fix.

Yes, it's a shame what they did to NYNY. I'll never understand it. And believe it or not, during all the years I stayed there, I've never once eaten at Gallagher's!!

Thanks JMT for the review and the update on NYNY. While I liked the theme of the old NYNY, I would at times get fustrarted with the tightness in some areas. Have they addressed this issue with the re-do?
Paul Rodrigues, is one of the few acts i have walked out on in Vegas. Any part of the show in spanish? I have always viewed him as having great comedic potential, but never really realizing it in his performances, be it TV or stage.
My thoughts of the Trop's re-do, is a wait and see if its for real or not. Time will tell the full story. I never thought the Trop would get any kind of attention, so any remodleing is better then none, IMHO.

Mike, I don't think you've missed anything at Gallagher's. I do think it's interesting that you've never been there after all these years. It's a notch or more down from The Palm. What I like about it is they start with good meat and the steaks are cooked over an open flame and come out pretty black and almost crusty with char and sear. Most of the steaks are not pretty like high end guys.

Lee, it is easier to get around in NYNY, so that is a plus. I remember looking at an area that I remembered as being tight, and it "appeared" nice and wide. That was between some card tables and a bar.

Paul's show wasn't bad enough for me to walk out. He was only a third of the show. He claims that he doesn't speak Spanish and only learned certain lines for acting parts. I don't know if I believe that, but he gave examples. He says that he is trying to learn it and will try to do a whole show in Spanish sometime in June.

The girl comedienne probably used less than 10 Spanish sentences. Most were repeats of the punch line she just said in English.

Also in that show, the dancers included Lorena Perel from Sin City Bad Girls. She's a helluva singer, but this was a silent dancing part. I talked to her last night after her Bad Girls show and she said this was her first dancing part that she's ever had. She said she was nervous and was worried about her performance. It's also a challenge for her to open a 9pm show at the Trop and be at the Hilton for her 10:30 show 6 nights a week. It was an interesting conversation considering she doesn't even know me.

Good thoughts on the Trop with the "wait and see". They will be starting with a lot of potential.

I've never been to Gallagher's only because I discovered CraftSteak at MGM Grand early on and always went there for steak (or Delmonico's or Billy Bob's, depending if I wanted to travel outside of the NYNY/MGM vicinity).

Lee - there's definitely more room now in the aisles at NYNY but it seems too sparse for me now. And for serious VP players like us, the selection is nowhere as good as it used to be. (There are NO quarter denomination Triple Play machines in the entire casino - VERY frustrating!)

Thanks, JMT, Mike, and Lee,

We stayed at the NYNY a few days within the first month of it's opening and had dinner one evening at Gallagher's and since I am a Morton's and Ruth Chris fan, I didn' like it too very much as the steak was a bit on the tough side and nothing like the meals mentioned above, Plus we each ordered a side of of something and once it arrived we had enough to feed the neighboring three or four tables. One order would have been more than enough but the waiter didn't say anything.

So we never did go back.

But just recently we went to NYNY to see if they had done anything new to the place and within five minutes we were looking for the nearest exit.

They demolished the 'trees' and the park-like atmosphere and added a bar where that bar should have never been .... and they completely ruined the original atmosphere.

Now it is one of those Strip casinos that avoid entering whenever possible.

Come to speak of it ,,,, I now tend to avoid a few more Strip joints that make me feel a bit 'wheezxy' in my stomach for some unknown reason.

What is it about the following places that cause me to feel 'wheexey' and avoid them whenever possible?

NYNY
Excalibur
Monte Carlo (but getting somewhat better)
Imperial Palace
Circus Circus
Sahara
and ..... TI - but just a bit though.

Themed over kill or bland as heck? No Class?

Lee, all of the above most likely.

I just returned from the Wynn and the Encore and can definitely state that those two hotels are far superior to/than any other LV hotel that I'm familiar with.

My second favorite is definitely the Golden Nuggat.

Good list (of bad places) will. I haven't been to the new TI since Phil took over. I understand changes are still taking place and I wanted to wait until the changeover.

OTOH, I don't need the most expensive places to have fun. There's very little in the Wynn and Encore that call my name. The Golden Nugget makes a nice walk through and does little to hold me in.

Come to think of it, JMT .... although we've stayed at the WYNN a few times, we've only eaten there once, and that the night we 'fine dined' at while overlooking the Lake of Dreams audiomatron animatics or whatever they call that green frog and those big flowers and that family of silver balls that dance along top of the lake within a very spectacular setting.

When we stayed there more than a couple of days we would usually fine dine elsewhere such as Denny's for breakfast and Morton's or Ruth Chris or Lawrey's for dinner.

As a side, here are my least favorite casinos in the Downtown area:

The Plaza - It was OK when the train stopped in the 'lobby'. Today it looks like the train ran through it.
The Nevada Club - it used to be better than it is today which doesn't say too much.
The Horseshoe - It used to be the best in the USA when Mr Binion ran the place but then the kids and eventually the suits took over and it will never be the same, but is has been making a change for the better this past year.
Those two slot joints whose names I never paid attention to. One in the middle of the block and the other on the corner.
Fritzgerald's - never was much to speak of but its gotten a bit worse lately.

I still like:

Four Queens but it had its best years way back in the early 80's.
Golden Gate - It's seen its Golden years and lately it seems to be hitting the skids but give it time to see how it all turns out. Du Par now owns the two dining spots and that may kill the goose that laid the Golden Egg. I hope not.
Fremont and the Cal seem to be doing fine and are both enjoyable in my opinion.
The Gold Spike is now completely different than the Gold Spike I used to know and they are trying extra hard to make a name for themselves. It's worth a look-see.

And .... if you have not seen the Golden Nugget in the past year or so, you're gonna be surprised on your next visit. Look for the "Hide-a-way"! This is now my second favorite hotel/casino in Las Vegas - The Wynn complex is my top favorite but the GN is close behind and gaining fast due to the fact that their room rates are less expensive and they offer decent dining at reasonable prices.

I was in the Orleans yesterday (Sunday) and noticed a very long line of people waiting to check in. I stopped and asked why there were so many people in line and a couple of the old timers proudly stated that they were in town for the Korean War Veterans meeting or convention or gathering.

I thanked them for their time in Korea and wished them luck and proceeded on into the main part of the casino and was very surprised.

The place was packed with people of every description on a late Sunday afternoon.

Actually I haven't seen a casino this crowded since the busy days a few years back.

The majority fo the tables were 80% full and the entire place was full of the noise of spinning slot machines 'wheels'.

It was a sight I have not seen these past few years.

What's up, JMT?

I should also mention that I was in the Encore around noon (Sunday) for an hour or so and it was very quiet. In fact most of the tables were empty and there were very few people at the slot machines.

And there was no line into the Encore Beach.

In fact the only line I did see was the crowd standing in line waiting for a taxi.

Has anyone noticed the thoughtful and expensive route from the Encore front door to the airport. Steve Wynn actually built a tunnel that leads from that front door to Desert Inn Road thereby allowing you to turn right on Paradise and then directly to the airport.

That way you avoid any and all traffic along the Strip.

Very thoughtful, Mr Wynn!

That tunnel was there long before Wynn bought the DI. I believe it was part of the original DI Arterial construction project.

There are other tunnels at the WynnDot Encore project that have raised attention over the years. Ask you favorite cabbie.

Come to think of it, I can't even recall the last time I hopped into a taxi-cab.

So I gotta leave that tunnels stories up to you, JMT>

I always think that I am a 'know-it-all' when it comes to Las Vegas stuff, but thanks to you and a couple of others who are fellow know-it-alls of a somewhat higher caliber, I learn new LV stuff all the time.

For instance, I had no idea that tunnel was there before Wynn built the Encore.

In fact, I had no idea that the Desert Inn Road even went under the Strip until just recently.

Thanks for these updates, JMT.

Do you recall the old Silver Slipper? What small casino was on the west side of LV Blvd directly across from the Silver Slipper? I used to go in there but I forgot its name.

If I recall right, the Silver Slipper was located where Ross's is presently situated.

I hope that things work out at the Tropicana. We had some very nice visits (and big wins) around 1990 but they clearly let the place go over the years.

Thanks will, but one of the objectives of TalkVegas is for everyone to share their information and experience so we all learn as a collective experience. I've learned a lot here. I know it's been kinda dry lately, but I hope others will come around and post more.

As I recall, the Silver Slipper was on the west side. It had the Frontier one side and Stardust on the other. The DI was across the street and that's where Howard Hughes was staying when he bought the Silver Slipper because it's lights shined into his room.

Perhaps you recall Silver City??? I believe it was where Ross now stands. It was pretty much across from the Stardust, I think.

Yes, JMT, I do recall all those places you mentioned above. Thanks for the memory jolt regarding the Silver City/Silver Slipper locations.

I now do recall Silver City pretty vividly. I took the whole family there when Mystere first opened so that they could all learn to play Craps and they all walked out winners, which was surprising.

If I remember correctly, Silver City had one or two Crap tables and a small poker area along the north side wall and slots in the middle and a small snack area towards the back.

I know I was in the Silver Slipper a few times, but I can't recall what the interior looked like. Wasn't it mainly slot machines?

What I remember from the silver city, was it was a filthy dump! they tried to go non-smoking without cleaning up the joint. It still smelled like a used ashtray. Sticky chips too. You could press a stack of fives togeather and lift the whole stack by the top chip! I do not have one nice memory from the joint.